Fred's Class on the Field Trip

Elizabeth, Jessica and Jasmin

John and Sean

Jasmin and Vicky

Ray and Julianna

March Field Trip

Waiting for the show to start

This past Thursday we had our first field trip of the new school year. We went to see a magic show. All of the kids were excited and the teachers were nervous. It is always hard to watch over all of your students while you are in a place filled with tons of distractions. Add in that many of the kids have only been in school for three weeks and the stress is high. I had told my kids that they would get twenty sticker if they were good. It worked! My kids lined up perfectly. They followed all of my directions and they were so well behaved. I rewarded them with candy once we got back to school. Overall, all of the kids loved the show. We got back to LCI and we were very exhausted but it was worth it!

My bus buddy Ms. Judy with her new glasses

All lined up

Hailey and Olivia

Simon from my old class

Brian and Daniel

A Few More Pictures

Patti. She wants to spell her name Pat-T

Zion

Claire

Daniel

Four of my five first grade boys:

Dave, Anthony, Foco and Kevin

Getting Better

As the days go on they get better at school. We are adjusting to our new classes although the transition is still hard. This past week was good but not wonderful. I am know that each week will get better. This coming week we have a field trip which will be very exciting. I am nervous to take my students, whom barely speak English, into a busy place that will be filled with distractions but it will be fun. We are going to see a children's play.

This past weekend was very fun. On Friday night we went out for 'duk galbi' which is simply chicken and veggies that are cooked at your table.

Before


After
After dinner we went out for some drinks at Batman. On Saturday we woke up early and watched some basketball games on TV. In the afternoon Ann and I went shopping then met up with Fred and Tom to see 'The Fighter.' Today we watched a lot more basketball and have been relaxing. Overall, it has been a great weekend.

Fred's Class

Julianna from my old class.



John



Jessica who tells Fred to drink his yogurt in "one shot" and Elizabeth



Jasmin and Vicky



The boys: Jamie, Sean, Chris and Ray

Weekend

After a very stressful week at LCI it was finally the weekend. On Friday after work we came home, ordered pizza, watched movies and did not leave the apartment. We were both so exhausted from the long week. On Saturday we woke up to a very nice warm spring day. It was almost 60 degrees here all weekend! We decided to take advantage of the nice day and do something outside. We found out that the Suwom Bluewings had their first home soccer game. We called three of our co-teachers and we headed to the game. Fred and I bought season passes so that we can go to a lot of games during our last few months in Korea. It was very exciting and Suwon ended up winning 2-1. After the game we all headed to dinner at a Mexican restaurant for tacos and margaritas. On Sunday Fred and I went into Seoul to walk around and do some spring shopping. It was a very nice and relaxing weekend.

A Very Stressful Week

This past week has been the most stressful time that I have had in Korea. The change in Kinder classes has been very hard for me. I went from having one of the smartest classes in LCI, whom I adorded, to having a new class that knows VERY VERY little English. I was not prepared for the reality of teaching kids that speak no English. It has been so hard to get them to understand what I mean. It was a very shocking week that was at times filled with a lot of frustration. I like my new students but the teaching situation has been hard. I have also had a hard time moving on from my old students. I loved teaching them over the past year and I am very attached to them. It has been hard to not have them in my classroom each morning. Along with the new Kinder class, all of my classes have changed except for my highest level 4th grade class. I don't deal very well with stress and new pressures so this week has been taking a toll on me. My stress is causing my arthritis to act up. I have had an excruciating amount of pain in my hands and knees. I hope that once I adjust to my new Kinder students I will have less pain. I know that it will get easier with time but for now it has been a very hard transition.

New Kinder Students

Today was my first day with my new Kinder class. It was a very weird feeling walking into a room of children who have no idea what you are saying to them. All of the children walked into my room and I had to remove all of their backpacks, coats and shoes. It was a long process. I then sat them down and started teaching them "hello" and "goodbye." After a few minutes of this we moved onto, "What is your name?" The kids understood these so we moved onto, "My name is..." Overall it went well. As the day went on I learned that a few of them know a decent amount of English. I even got a handwritten card from Olivia telling me how excited she was to meet me and study with me. That was very impressive! It was also weird knowing that my other kids were down the hall in another room. They came and gave me hugs but it was weird to not be teaching them. I know that each day will get easier!


My SUPER cute student Claire


Zion. She kept telling the students that I don't speak Korean.


Patti. She might be trouble. She went to the 'bathroom' and somehow ended up in playgym.


Hailey. She seems to be the class leader and knows a good amount of English.


Olivia. She is very sweet and knows the most English in the class.


Brian D. He is going to be the class clown.


Brian Y. He is very kind and quiet.


Dana. She is very focused and follows my directions.

The Last Day of the Year

Yesterday was the last day of the school year. It was so hard knowing that this was the last time we will have each of our students. We have been teaching these kids for at least 7 months and we are very bonded to them. I have been teaching my second graders ever since I first arrived in Korea, July 2009. I remember what they were like as quiet, shy first graders. Now they can write essays and understand and remember details from stories. As of tomorrow, all of our classes will be new. My Kinder students will be 7-1 meaning that they are 7 years old (6 American) and in their first year of English. Fred's will be 7-2. My first graders are 8-2 and Fred's are 8-3. My second graders will be in their fifth year of learning English! They are the highest second grade class. Fred's second graders will be a mix of 2nd and 3rd year students. We will each also have one 3rd grade class and one 4th grade class. It is going to be weird going to school tomorrow and seeing our students with other teachers!


My Kinder class and I


My first graders and I


My second graders whom I have been teaching since July 2009

Staff Party

This past Friday we had our End of the Year Staff Party. After work we all went to a galbi (Korean BBQ) restaurant for dinner. It was so fun to be with all of the foreign teachers and the Korean teachers. All of the supervisors and the owner came to dinner. After a lot of food, wine and speeches we all ended to our local bar, Batman. We played darts and chatted for a while before we all headed home. It was a very fun night but it made it real that many of my closest friends will now be leaving. I have been working with these people for a year or longer. It is going to be very weird to not have them in the office each day. We are losing Steve, Josh, Nathan, Yelena, Britney and Carla. The new teachers are Tristan, Melinda, Chad, Tom and Laura. Although the change of the new school year is exciting, it is hard to believe that the time to say goodbye is already here!


Me, The head director Lucy and the owner Melanie


Fred and Korean Nathan Teacher (we have two: Korean and non-Korean)


Ann, me and Michelle


Nari, Cindy and Lily


Many of the Korean staff members